How to root your Android phone with one click

A while back, I rooted my G1 to install Froyo. But because that phone is relatively slow and has limited space (no removable/replaceable SD card), I've basically reserved that phone for tethering and use my Fender myTouch 3G as my day-to-day phone. Ever since my wife's regular myTouch 3G got its Froyo update from T-Mobile, I've been jealous and itchy to move beyond Android 1.6, which is where my phone has been stuck since I got it (for some reason, though Fenders were supposed to get the update earlier than the other myTouches, now it's left in "at a later date" limbo).

I hadn't rooted this phone yet, because the process was much more difficult (and risky) than for the G1, involving making a gold card, messing around on the command line, and various other tricky geek stuff. When I could take it no longer, I did a little more searching and was thrilled to find a true one-click solution had been developed since the last time I checked (previous so-called "one-click" solutions took much, much more than a single click). Now, there's a regular-user-friendly way to root your Android phone, no geek skills required at all, and it works across a variety of phones (most rooting processes are specific to a particular device).

This rooting procedure will work on the following devices:

• Google Nexus One (2.2)
  
• Google G1 (1.6)
  
• HTC Hero (2.1)
  
• HTC Magic (1.5) (Select Do not install Superuser)
  
• HTC Tattoo (1.6)
  
• Dell Streak (2.1)
  
• Motorola Milestone (2.1)
  
• Motorola XT701
  
• Motorola XT800 (2.1)
  
• Motorola ME511
  
• Motorola Droid (2.01/2.1/2.2 with FRG01B)
  
• Sony Ericsson X10 (1.6)
  
• Sony Ericsson X10 Mini (1.6)
  
• Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro (1.6)
  
• Acer Liquid (2.1)
  
• Acer beTouch E400 (2.1)
  
• Samsung Galaxy Beam
  
• Vibo A688 (1.6)
  
• Lenovo Lephone (1.6)
  
• LG GT540 (1.6)
  
• Gigabyte GSmart G1305

All you'll need for the actual rooting process (installing a new ROM will take slightly more than one click but is still easy enough for a novice to accomplish) is the Universal Androot app. Here's the QR code that will take you right to it (make sure you've already gone into Settings->Applications and enabled installation of non-Market applications first):

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Once you've installed and launched the app, you'll be greeted with the following screen, which is where you'll make your one click:



And that's it. Really. Within a few seconds, you'll get a message that confirms you've successfully rooted your phone. You now have superuser privileges, and you didn't even have to restart the device!

Assuming you've gotten this far, you probably already have a good idea of why you might want to root your phone, and if you're like me, that reason probably has something to do with upgrading your Android OS with a custom ROM. Well, now that you're rooted, there's an app for that too, and it's just about as easy to use.